Bug 2492821 (CVE-2026-53207)

Summary: CVE-2026-53207 kernel: mm/memory-failure: fix hugetlb_lock AA deadlock in get_huge_page_for_hwpoison
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security <prodsec-ir-bot>
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Priority: low    
Version: unspecifiedCC: rhel-process-autobot, watson-tool-maintainers
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's memory management, specifically concerning huge pages. When two concurrent memory poisoning operations (`madvise(MADV_HWPOISON)`) occur on the same huge page while it is also being unmapped, a recursive spinlock self-deadlock can be triggered. This can lead to a system deadlock, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) where the system becomes unresponsive.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-06-25 10:07:33 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mm/memory-failure: fix hugetlb_lock AA deadlock in get_huge_page_for_hwpoison

Two concurrent madvise(MADV_HWPOISON) calls on the same hugetlb page can
trigger a recursive spinlock self-deadlock (AA deadlock) on hugetlb_lock
when racing with a concurrent unmap:

  thread#0                              thread#1
  --------                              --------
  madvise(folio, MADV_HWPOISON)
    -> poisons the folio successfully
  madvise(folio, MADV_HWPOISON)         unmap(folio)
    try_memory_failure_hugetlb
      get_huge_page_for_hwpoison
        spin_lock_irq(&hugetlb_lock)    <- held
        __get_huge_page_for_hwpoison
          hugetlb_update_hwpoison()
            -> MF_HUGETLB_FOLIO_PRE_POISONED
          goto out:
            folio_put()
              refcount: 1 -> 0
              free_huge_folio()
                spin_lock_irqsave(&hugetlb_lock)
                  -> AA DEADLOCK!

The out: path in __get_huge_page_for_hwpoison() calls folio_put() to drop
the GUP reference while the hugetlb_lock is still held by the hugetlb.c
wrapper get_huge_page_for_hwpoison().  If concurrent unmap has released
the page table mapping reference, folio_put() drops the folio refcount to
zero, triggering free_huge_folio() which attempts to re-acquire the
non-recursive hugetlb_lock.

Fix this by moving hugetlb_lock acquisition from the hugetlb.c wrapper
into get_huge_page_for_hwpoison().  Place spin_unlock_irq() before the
folio_put() at the out: label so the folio is always released outside the
lock.

[akpm: fix race, rename label per Miaohe]